"Costco Suncheon Branch to Promote Foundation for Mutual Growth with Local Small Businesses and Neighborhood Commercial Districts"

Suncheon City Analyzes Impact on Local Commercial Districts...
Operation of Regional Mutual Growth Council and Research on Collaborative Strategies

"Aiming to Create Local Jobs, Attract Consumer Spending, and Link Old Downtown with Traditional Markets"

Suncheon City in South Jeolla Province announced that, regarding the opening of the Costco Suncheon branch, it is making the establishment of a sustainable foundation for mutual growth with local small business owners and traditional commercial districts its core priority, while thoroughly examining the potential impact on the local economy.

The city is comprehensively pursuing measures such as analyzing the impact of Costco's entry on local commercial districts, collecting opinions from small business owners, and identifying opportunities for collaborative growth, to ensure that Costco’s presence goes beyond merely attracting a large-scale distribution facility.

View of Suncheon City Hall.

In particular, the city plans to conduct an objective analysis of the impact on industries that may be affected, such as traditional markets, supermarkets, food material marts, and neighborhood commercial zones, and to develop effective countermeasures tailored to local circumstances.

So far, Suncheon City has been in constant communication with local small business groups such as the Small Business Association and the Jeonnam Eastern Supermarket Cooperative, gathering feedback from the field regarding the entry of large-scale stores. In November last year, the city held a meeting with the board of the Jeonnam Eastern Supermarket Cooperative to share updates on the progress of Costco’s opening and reached a consensus for the cooperative's active participation in future discussions for mutual growth.

To this end, the city has completed a contract and is currently conducting a “Research Project on Strategies for Mutual Growth in Light of the Opening of Large-scale Stores.” The study focuses on analyzing the impact of the Costco Suncheon branch on local commercial districts and developing collaborative strategies with small business owners, traditional markets, and small- and medium-sized distributors.

Key research tasks include a survey of the commercial landscape across Suncheon City, analysis of the impact by industry and region, analysis of industries expected to be affected, review of potential for prioritizing local residents and youth in hiring, analysis of fields where local companies can participate, and exploring ways to connect Costco visitors with the old downtown, traditional markets, and tourist sites.

In addition, taking into account the local election schedule and the timing of the Suncheon City Council’s opening, the city plans to establish the “Suncheon City Regional Mutual Growth Council” in July, following the council’s opening. The council will be a public-private body composed of administration officials, small business owners, small and medium-sized distributors, traditional markets, merchant associations, consumer organizations, experts, and the city council. It will discuss the impact of Costco’s entry on local commercial districts, response strategies, and collaborative initiatives for small business owners, traditional markets, and small and medium-sized distributors.

After the council is formed, the city will share the progress of the research project, incorporate the council’s feedback into the study, and further specify the focus industries, research targets, and directions for discovering mutual growth projects. Through this process, the city aims to develop a “Suncheon-style mutual growth model” that reflects on-the-ground opinions from small business owners, traditional markets, and small- and medium-sized distributors, rather than implementing unilateral, government-led solutions.

In particular, the city plans to focus on identifying collaborative projects with genuine potential for negotiation and implementation, rather than simply providing cash support. Specific actionable items to be discussed with Costco include hiring local talent, engaging local companies in service contracts, depositing funds in local financial institutions, expanding sales channels for local products, and launching cooperative projects with local small merchants. The results of the research project will be used as reference materials for future negotiations concerning Costco’s regional cooperation plans.

A city official stated, “We will develop effective response measures so that the opening of Costco does not shrink local commercial districts, but instead leads to overall positive effects on the local economy, such as job creation, increased consumer spending, revitalization of the old downtown and traditional markets, and the expansion of sales channels for local products.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.